Counter

A counter is person who counts, like a rider is one who rides. A counter is the part of your kitchen that is by the sink and where you can place things like the clean dishes before you dry them or the pot roast coming out of the oven. For some reason there is a distinction about the upper most surface of the counter and we call it the countertop. Who thought that up?

If something is counterfeit it is false as in phony money or a fake antique. The root word ‘counter’ speaks to the opposite. A counter punch is delivered from the opposite side or using the opposite hand. A counter force is the part of the army, for instance, that is fighting back an attack. A counter point is one in reaction to a statement, as in a debate, intended to diffuse or disprove the point just made.

To counter balance is like a teeter totter where the person on one end is the counter weight to create the counter balance so it is easy to make it go up and down. Sometimes, a very large bell has a counter weight above it, kind of like a vertical teeter totter. The rope is attached at the top of the counter weight so that when you pull on it, it is much easier to tip the bell so it will ring. That counter balancing weight will also help keep the bell ringing after you stop pulling the rope

And of course we have encounter, which is to meet something or someone. It can also be an exciting or scary thing like an encounter with a lion. When we encounter each other we often follow a kind of protocol, asking how are you (fine) etc. I suppose that evolved from checking to ascertain if that lion is safe. Now we check most encounters with fellow humans in this little exchange

Sometimes a counter person is needed, like on the teeter totter. Also in developing ideas, the counter ideas are the ones to explore. I suppose I can be a useful counter, challenge the status quo with the intent of helping it to evolve to better. Could also just be a pain the rear by countering every little thing (teenage boys can be like this). What kind of ‘counter’ do you most often act like?